Why I Did Not Finish Between Two Fires by Toni Williams

Rudy Phillips is the sort of guy who walks into a room and catches every female eye. He has a mesmerizing charm that women can’t resist. Bridget Tennyson, a stunningly gorgeous American is the latest chick he’s got his sights set on. However, she’s not the kind of woman Rudy is used to chasing. She’s a professional stockbroker and owns a highly successful stock-trading firm on an exclusive Caribbean island catering to the superrich. She’s also married to the famous British nobleman, Lord Edward Tennyson. Bridget is crazy about Rudy even though she’s aware that they come from completely different worlds. Rudy feels the same way about her. What’s more, never before has he found the forbidden so alluring. The big question is, can Rudy who is used to having women eating out of his hand, handle a woman like Bridget who is independent-minded, calculating and ambitious? They both know that if they slip up and Bridget’s husband discovers what’s going down, all hell will break loose but it’s a chance they’re willing to take. – Goodreads.

The author sent me a copy of Between Two Fires for an honest review.

I must start this review by commending the author on the quality of the book. Toni Williams self-published Between Two Fires and sent a copy to me to review, I was impressed by the quality of the paperback I received. The paper is thick, the cover is glossy and well-designed, and the text is well-formatted. Some of you might not think of that as an achievement, but considering the poor quality of some of the other self-published books I’ve come across, this one came across as a star.

As for the story, it wasn’t for me. I usually wait until I’m about a hundred or so pages into a book before I decide to DNF it, but I made up my mind by the time I reached the second chapter in this one (thirteen pages). I noticed I was sticking too many negative post-its everywhere and decided it would be best for me to put the book away instead of wasting all my post-its.

I had problems with the first paragraph. The story begins with Bridget, the protagonist, at the airport at Elysian Island. She sees Rudy, a man she’s supposedly mad about, and begins to describe him straight away: ‘athletic build and rugged look. And those chiselled features – a strong jaw and firm forehead, a well-defined nose and bright, compelling eyes.’

Every time I read these descriptions I ask myself what’s a ‘strong jaw’? What do you mean by ‘firm forehead’? Doesn’t everyone have a firm forehead? Are you telling me he has a skull? I’d be worried if he didn’t. And finally, if it’s obvious that someone has a nose, then doesn’t that mean their nose is well-defined? So, am I being told that this character has a nose? At this point, despite being given a description, I still don’t know what that character looks like, which makes the description confusing and pointless.

The next twelve pages of Between Two Fires go on to tell us about the Elysian Island, our characters sit in a car and instead of talking to each other, Bridget takes two phone calls and Rudy tells us about Bridget’s husband (that goes on for about two and a half of those twelve pages). Then, while Bridget is taking her second phone call and not engaging with the other character at all, Rudy tells us about how he met Bridget. The story is supposed to focus on this crazy romance between Bridget and Rudy but there’s zero chemistry. We’re repeatedly told they’re physically attracted to each other but it’s not shown at all. After thirteen pages of being told things, I decided to give it a rest because it looks like this is the author’s writing style and I know it’s not a style I’m going to like.